² “If one attempts a word with you, will you become weary?
But who can withhold himself from speaking?
³ Surely you have instructed many,
And you ^(A)have strengthened weak hands.
⁴ Your words have upheld him who was stumbling,
And you ^(B)have strengthened the ^[a]feeble knees;
⁵ But now it comes upon you, and you are weary;
It touches you, and you are troubled.
⁶ Is not ^(C)your reverence ^(D)your confidence?
And the integrity of your ways your hope?

⁷ “Remember now, ^(E)who ever perished being innocent?
Or where were the upright ever cut off?
⁸ Even as I have seen,
^(F)Those who plow iniquity
And sow trouble reap the same.
⁹ By the blast of God they perish,
And by the breath of His anger they are consumed.
¹⁰ The roaring of the lion,
The voice of the fierce lion,
And ^(G)the teeth of the young lions are broken.
^11 (H)The old lion perishes for lack of prey,
And the cubs of the lioness are scattered.

¹² “Now a word was secretly brought to me,
And my ear received a whisper of it.
^13 (I)In disquieting thoughts from the visions of the night,
When deep sleep falls on men,
¹⁴ Fear came upon me, and ^(J)trembling,
Which made all my bones shake.
¹⁵ Then a spirit passed before my face;
The hair on my body stood up.
¹⁶ It stood still,
But I could not discern its appearance.
A form was before my eyes;
There was silence;
Then I heard a voice saying:
¹⁷ ‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God?
Can a man be more pure than his Maker?
¹⁸ If He ^(K)puts no trust in His servants,
If He charges His angels with error,
¹⁹ How much more those who dwell in houses of clay,
Whose foundation is in the dust,
Who are crushed before a moth?
^20 (L)They are broken in pieces from morning till evening;
They perish forever, with no one regarding.
²¹ Does not their own excellence go away?
They die, even without wisdom.’

⁸ “But as for me, I would seek God,
And to God I would commit my cause—
⁹ Who does great things, and unsearchable,
Marvelous things without number.
^10 (Q)He gives rain on the earth,
And sends waters on the fields.
^11 (R)He sets on high those who are lowly,
And those who mourn are lifted to safety.
^12 (S)He frustrates the devices of the crafty,
So that their hands cannot carry out their plans.
¹³ He catches the ^(T)wise in their own craftiness,
And the counsel of the cunning comes quickly upon them.
¹⁴ They meet with darkness in the daytime,
And grope at noontime as in the night.
¹⁵ But ^(U)He saves the needy from the sword,
From the mouth of the mighty,
And from their hand.
^16 (V)So the poor have hope,
And injustice shuts her mouth.

¹⁷ “Behold,^(W) happy is the man whom God corrects;
Therefore do not despise the chastening of the Almighty.
^18 (X)For He bruises, but He binds up;
He wounds, but His hands make whole.
^19 (Y)He shall deliver you in six troubles,
Yes, in seven ^(Z)no evil shall touch you.
^20 (AA)In famine He shall redeem you from death,
And in war from the ^[f]power of the sword.
^21 (AB)You shall be hidden from the scourge of the tongue,
And you shall not be afraid of destruction when it comes.
²² You shall laugh at destruction and famine,
And ^(AC)you shall not be afraid of the ^(AD)beasts of the earth.
^23 (AE)For you shall have a covenant with the stones of the field,
And the beasts of the field shall be at peace with you.
²⁴ You shall know that your tent is in peace;
You shall visit your dwelling and find nothing amiss.
²⁵ You shall also know that ^(AF)your descendants shall be many,
And your offspring ^(AG)like the grass of the earth.
^26 (AH)You shall come to the grave at a full age,
As a sheaf of grain ripens in its season.
²⁷ Behold, this we have ^(AI)searched out;
It is true.
Hear it, and know for yourself.”

² “How long will you speak these things,
And the words of your mouth be like a strong wind?
^3 (A)Does God subvert judgment?
Or does the Almighty pervert justice?
⁴ If ^(B)your sons have sinned against Him,
He has cast them away ^[a]for their transgression.
^5 (C)If you would earnestly seek God
And make your supplication to the Almighty,
⁶ If you were pure and upright,
Surely now He would ^[b]awake for you,
And prosper your rightful dwelling place.
⁷ Though your beginning was small,
Yet your latter end would ^(D)increase abundantly.

⁸ “For^(E) inquire, please, of the former age,
And consider the things discovered by their fathers;
⁹ For ^(F)we were born yesterday, and know ^[c]nothing,
Because our days on earth are a shadow.
¹⁰ Will they not teach you and tell you,
And utter words from their heart?

¹¹ “Can the papyrus grow up without a marsh?
Can the reeds flourish without water?
^12 (G)While it is yet green and not cut down,
It withers before any other plant.
¹³ So are the paths of all who ^(H)forget God;
And the hope of the ^(I)hypocrite shall perish,
¹⁴ Whose confidence shall be cut off,
And whose trust is ^[d]a spider’s web.
^15 (J)He leans on his house, but it does not stand.
He holds it fast, but it does not endure.
¹⁶ He grows green in the sun,
And his branches spread out in his garden.
¹⁷ His roots wrap around the rock heap,
And look for a place in the stones.
^18 (K)If he is destroyed from his place,
Then it will deny him, saying, ‘I have not seen you.’

¹⁹ “Behold, this is the joy of His way,
And ^(L)out of the earth others will grow.
²⁰ Behold, ^(M)God will not ^[e]cast away the blameless,
Nor will He uphold the evildoers.
²¹ He will yet fill your mouth with laughing,
And your lips with ^[f]rejoicing.
²² Those who hate you will be ^(N)clothed with shame,
And the dwelling place of the wicked ^[g]will come to nothing.”

² “Should a wise man answer with empty knowledge,
And fill ^[a]himself with the east wind?
³ Should he reason with unprofitable talk,
Or by speeches with which he can do no good?
⁴ Yes, you cast off fear,
And restrain ^[b]prayer before God.
⁵ For your iniquity teaches your mouth,
And you choose the tongue of the crafty.
^6 (B)Your own mouth condemns you, and not I;
Yes, your own lips testify against you.

⁷ “Are you the first man who was born?
^(C)Or were you made before the hills?
^8 (D)Have you heard the counsel of God?
Do you limit wisdom to yourself?
^9 (E)What do you know that we do not know?
What do you understand that is not in us?
^10 (F)Both the gray-haired and the aged are among us,
Much older than your father.
¹¹ Are the consolations of God too small for you,
And the word spoken ^[c]gently with you?
¹² Why does your heart carry you away,
And ^[d]what do your eyes wink at,
¹³ That you turn your spirit against God,
And let such words go out of your mouth?

¹⁴ “What^(G) is man, that he could be pure?
And he who is born of a woman, that he could be righteous?
^15 (H)If God puts no trust in His saints,
And the heavens are not pure in His sight,
^16 (I)How much less man, who is abominable and filthy,
^(J)Who drinks iniquity like water!

¹⁷ “I will tell you, hear me;
What I have seen I will declare,
¹⁸ What wise men have told,
Not hiding anything received ^(K)from their fathers,
¹⁹ To whom alone the ^[e]land was given,
And ^(L)no alien passed among them:
²⁰ The wicked man writhes with pain all his days,
^(M)And the number of years is hidden from the oppressor.
^21 [f]Dreadful sounds are in his ears;
^(N)In prosperity the destroyer comes upon him.
²² He does not believe that he will ^(O)return from darkness,
For a sword is waiting for him.
²³ He ^(P)wanders about for bread, saying, ‘Where is it?’
He knows ^(Q)that a day of darkness is ready at his hand.
²⁴ Trouble and anguish make him afraid;
They overpower him, like a king ready for ^[g]battle.
²⁵ For he stretches out his hand against God,
And acts defiantly against the Almighty,
²⁶ Running stubbornly against Him
With his strong, embossed shield.

²⁷ “Though^(R) he has covered his face with his fatness,
And made his waist heavy with fat,
²⁸ He dwells in desolate cities,
In houses which no one inhabits,
Which are destined to become ruins.
²⁹ He will not be rich,
Nor will his wealth ^(S)continue,
Nor will his possessions overspread the earth.
³⁰ He will not depart from darkness;
The flame will dry out his branches,
And ^(T)by the breath of His mouth he will go away.
³¹ Let him not ^(U)trust in futile things, deceiving himself,
For futility will be his reward.
³² It will be accomplished ^(V)before his time,
And his branch will not be green.
³³ He will shake off his unripe grape like a vine,
And cast off his blossom like an olive tree.
³⁴ For the company of hypocrites will be barren,
And fire will consume the tents of bribery.
^35 (W)They conceive trouble and bring forth futility;
Their womb prepares deceit.”

² “How long till you put an end to words?
Gain understanding, and afterward we will speak.
³ Why are we counted ^(B)as beasts,
And regarded as stupid in your sight?
^4 (C)You^[a] who tear yourself in anger,
Shall the earth be forsaken for you?
Or shall the rock be removed from its place?

⁵ “The^(D) light of the wicked indeed goes out,
And the flame of his fire does not shine.
⁶ The light is dark in his tent,
^(E)And his lamp beside him is put out.
⁷ The steps of his strength are shortened,
And ^(F)his own counsel casts him down.
⁸ For ^(G)he is cast into a net by his own feet,
And he walks into a snare.
⁹ The net takes him by the heel,
And ^(H)a snare lays hold of him.
¹⁰ A noose is hidden for him on the ground,
And a trap for him in the road.
^11 (I)Terrors frighten him on every side,
And drive him to his feet.
¹² His strength is starved,
And ^(J)destruction is ready at his side.
¹³ It devours patches of his skin;
The firstborn of death devours his ^[b]limbs.
¹⁴ He is uprooted from ^(K)the shelter of his tent,
And they parade him before the king of terrors.
¹⁵ They dwell in his tent who are none of his;
Brimstone is scattered on his dwelling.
^16 (L)His roots are dried out below,
And his branch withers above.
^17 (M)The memory of him perishes from the earth,
And he has no name ^[c]among the renowned.
^18 [d]He is driven from light into darkness,
And chased out of the world.
^19 (N)He has neither son nor posterity among his people,
Nor any remaining in his dwellings.
²⁰ Those ^[e]in the west are astonished ^(O)at his day,
As those ^[f]in the east are frightened.
²¹ Surely such are the dwellings of the wicked,
And this is the place of him who ^(P)does not know God.”

² “Therefore my anxious thoughts make me answer,
Because of the turmoil within me.
³ I have heard the rebuke ^[a]that reproaches me,
And the spirit of my understanding causes me to answer.

⁴ “Do you not know this of ^(B)old,
Since man was placed on earth,
^5 (C)That the triumphing of the wicked is short,
And the joy of the hypocrite is but for a ^(D)moment?
^6 (E)Though his haughtiness mounts up to the heavens,
And his head reaches to the clouds,
⁷ Yet he will perish forever like his own refuse;
Those who have seen him will say, ‘Where is he?’
⁸ He will fly away ^(F)like a dream, and not be found;
Yes, he ^(G)will be chased away like a vision of the night.
⁹ The eye that saw him will see him no more,
Nor will his place behold him anymore.
¹⁰ His children will seek the favor of the poor,
And his hands will restore his wealth.
¹¹ His bones are full of ^(H)his youthful vigor,
^(I)But it will lie down with him in the dust.

¹² “Though evil is sweet in his mouth,
And he hides it under his tongue,
¹³ Though he spares it and does not forsake it,
But still keeps it in his ^[b]mouth,
¹⁴ Yet his food in his stomach turns sour;
It becomes cobra venom within him.
¹⁵ He swallows down riches
And vomits them up again;
God casts them out of his belly.
¹⁶ He will suck the poison of cobras;
The viper’s tongue will slay him.
¹⁷ He will not see ^(J)the streams,
The rivers flowing with honey and cream.
¹⁸ He will restore that for which he labored,
And will not swallow it down;
From the proceeds of business
He will get no enjoyment.
¹⁹ For he has ^[c]oppressed and forsaken the poor,
He has violently seized a house which he did not build.

²⁰ “Because^(K) he knows no quietness in his ^[d]heart,
He will not save anything he desires.
²¹ Nothing is left for him to eat;
Therefore his well-being will not last.
²² In his self-sufficiency he will be in distress;
Every hand of ^[e]misery will come against him.
²³ When he is about to fill his stomach,
God will cast on him the fury of His wrath,
And will rain it on him while he is eating.
^24 (L)He will flee from the iron weapon;
A bronze bow will pierce him through.
²⁵ It is drawn, and comes out of the body;
Yes, ^(M)the glittering point comes out of his ^[f]gall.
^(N)Terrors come upon him;
²⁶ Total darkness is reserved for his treasures.
^(O)An unfanned fire will consume him;
It shall go ill with him who is left in his tent.
²⁷ The heavens will reveal his iniquity,
And the earth will rise up against him.
²⁸ The increase of his house will depart,
And his goods will flow away in the day of His ^(P)wrath.
^29 (Q)This is the portion from God for a wicked man,
The heritage appointed to him by God.”

² “Can^(B) a man be profitable to God,
Though he who is wise may be profitable to himself?
³ Is it any pleasure to the Almighty that you are righteous?
Or is it gain to Him that you make your ways blameless?

⁴ “Is it because of your fear of Him that He corrects you,
And enters into judgment with you?
⁵ Is not your wickedness great,
And your iniquity without end?
⁶ For you have ^(C)taken pledges from your brother for no reason,
And stripped the naked of their clothing.
⁷ You have not given the weary water to drink,
And you ^(D)have withheld bread from the hungry.
⁸ But the ^[a]mighty man possessed the land,
And the honorable man dwelt in it.
⁹ You have sent widows away empty,
And the ^[b]strength of the fatherless was crushed.
¹⁰ Therefore snares are all around you,
And sudden fear troubles you,
¹¹ Or darkness so that you cannot see;
And an abundance of ^(E)water covers you.

¹² “Is not God in the height of heaven?
And see the highest stars, how lofty they are!
¹³ And you say, ^(F)‘What does God know?
Can He judge through the deep darkness?
^14 (G)Thick clouds cover Him, so that He cannot see,
And He walks above the circle of heaven.’
¹⁵ Will you keep to the old way
Which wicked men have trod,
¹⁶ Who ^(H)were cut down before their time,
Whose foundations were swept away by a flood?
^17 (I)They said to God, ‘Depart from us!
What can the Almighty do to ^[c]them?’
¹⁸ Yet He filled their houses with good things;
But the counsel of the wicked is far from me.

¹⁹ “The^(J) righteous see it and are glad,
And the innocent laugh at them:
²⁰ ‘Surely our ^[d]adversaries are cut down,
And the fire consumes their remnant.’

²¹ “Now acquaint yourself with Him, and ^(K)be at peace;
Thereby good will come to you.
²² Receive, please, ^(L)instruction from His mouth,
And ^(M)lay up His words in your heart.
²³ If you return to the Almighty, you will be built up;
You will remove iniquity far from your tents.
²⁴ Then you will ^(N)lay your gold in the dust,
And the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks.
²⁵ Yes, the Almighty will be your ^[e]gold
And your precious silver;
²⁶ For then you will have your ^(O)delight in the Almighty,
And lift up your face to God.
^27 (P)You will make your prayer to Him,
He will hear you,
And you will pay your vows.
²⁸ You will also declare a thing,
And it will be established for you;
So light will shine on your ways.
²⁹ When they cast you down, and you say, ‘Exaltation will come!’
Then ^(Q)He will save the humble person.
³⁰ He will even deliver one who is not innocent;
Yes, he will be delivered by the purity of your hands.”

² “Dominion and fear belong to Him;
He makes peace in His high places.
^3 [a]Is there any number to His armies?
Upon whom does ^(B)His light not rise?
^4 (C)How then can man be righteous before God?
Or how can he be ^(D)pure who is born of a woman?
⁵ If even the moon does not shine,
And the stars are not pure in His ^(E)sight,
⁶ How much less man, who is ^(F)a maggot,
And a son of man, who is a worm?”